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What Does Cut, Make and Trim Mean in Fashion?

Whether you are starting a fashion business or expanding your hobby into something more profitable, you will have encountered the term “Cut, Make and Trim.” Cut, make and trim (CMT) is a term used by clothing manufacturers and factories. For more information about what it means, and whether you will need to use this service for your fashion business, read on.

What is Cut, Make and Trim?

CMT is the clothing manufacturing service you most commonly see at textiles factories. It is more of a full service than other jobs that the factory is responsible for, and is a good choice when you are starting a clothing line. The factory, in essence, creates the clothes for you. You select the materials and bring in the design. There are, as you would expect, three main steps in the Cut, Make and Trim process.

First Step: Cut

It initially appears that this is the easiest step in the process but it is actually the most time-consuming. It is certainly not an easy task to cut material to the exact specifications needed to make a perfect garment. Factories can cut with precision as they have high quality equipment to complete this job. In this step, the factory cuts the pieces as needed in order to make the final design. Therefore you need a pattern before you can start the cutting process. Most of the cutting machines today use lasers rather than the scissors you would expect to cut the fabric, which results in precision cutting and the best finish to the fabric.

Second Step: Make

In the make step, clothing manufacturers uk stitch together the cut pieces of fabric to form the finished piece of clothing. In most cases in the UK, this step is not completed by hand. Factories use precision machines to create the garments, resulting in an absolutely precise finish. Often clothing will be finished by hand if there are extra touches needed.

Third Step: Trim

The trim process is not really just about trimming; it is about checking the garments for any problems which can include hanging threads, too much fabric, or any other inconsistencies. The garments are checked to make sure each one meets the quality standards required.

Once these three steps have been taken the clothing is ready to be delivered to the customer. The three steps ensure that the clothing is manufactured to the same quality standards throughout the production process, whether you are making ten or 10,000. The CMT process allows you to create the clothes you need without having to spend a lot of money on expensive equipment.